Greenville in Bond County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

John Posch

Shoemaker from Austria

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 18, 2010

1. John Posch Marker

Inscription. In 1912, at age 24, John Posch came to the United States with a dime in his pocket and a bag of tools. In Austria, he had apprenticed for four years as a shoemaker and passed his test to work the trade. In Greenville, he started up his business in a two room house at the corner of East South and First Streets. In 1947, Posch bought the building at this location and started selling ready-made shoes from the International Shoe Company.

John Posch, his sons Carl and Louie, and employee Ed Merrifield would work from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. repairing bushel baskets full of shoes, sometimes upwards of 150 pairs of shoes a day. With $1500 in inventory, they added hardware and plumbing to the business and at one time employed five people. Later they would be the first to sell Honda motorcycles. John Posch and Son is Greenville's oldest continuing family-operated business.

In its earliest days this building housed F.H. Wheeler's Harness Shop.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.

Location. Marker has been reported missing. It was located near

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38° 53.57′ N, 89° 24.785′ W. Marker was in Greenville, Illinois, in Bond County. It was on College Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Marker is north across College Avenue from the Bond County Courthouse. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 213 West College Avenue, Greenville IL 62246, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Greater St. Louis.

It was also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Bond County (within shouting distance of this marker); War of 1812 Soldiers Buried in Bond County (within shouting distance of this marker); Weise & Bradford Store (within shouting distance of this marker); First City Hall and Fire House (within shouting distance of this marker);

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 18, 2010

2. John Posch Marker

At southwest (left) corner of building.

F. P. Joy & Company (within shouting distance of this marker); Bulkley-Buie Store (within shouting distance of this marker); J. R. Bennett Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Bond County Veterans Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Greenville.

Also see . . . Bond County Historical Society. (Submitted on August 7, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 3, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 7, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 998 times since then and 17 times this year. Last updated on January 3, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 7, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.